March 24, 2016 – Thursday’s Jacinto City’s Council Meeting was full of words of praises along with award presentations by Mayor Ana Diaz and Fire Chief Rebecca Mier to members of the Fire Department’s Emergency First Responder’s Unit and a 911 Police Dispatcher for their successful response to a 911 Emergency hang-up call.

It was Valentine’s Day February 14th when the family of Roger Matheny who’s known for his years of being Santa Claus as he rides the fire engine truck throughout the city giving candy stockings to the kids discovered that his 3 year old grandson Joshua Matheny Jr. was missing from within the house where family members had gathered for a visit.

Roger said, “Everyone began to call out and search and within minutes my grandson’s cousin 11 year old Miguel Muro Jr. ran to the backyard and discovered his missing cousin submerged in the family’s swimming pool.”

After Miguel rescued his drowning cousin from the pool he began applying Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) techniques he’d seen on television. Police Dispatcher Tatiana Viana received a 911 emergency call from the address but for some unknown reason the call disconnected before Dispatcher Viana could inquire about the nature of the call. Dispatcher Viana following the city’s 911 emergency call procedures quickly passed the hang-up call’s address to the fire department’s First Responder’s unit in which one of the city’s paramedics’ scrambled a first-out-unit to the location while a second rescue unit quickly followed.

Upon arrival the First Responders took control of what appeared to be a child drowning victim. They immediately began life saving resuscitation techniques to the child whose skin had turned blue from being submerged in water.

The Channelview FFA will hold its 53rd annual Livestock Show April 4-9 at the Allen Hall Fairgrounds, located on Wood Drive in Channelview.

The FFA will host a horticulture plant sale at the Channelview High School greenhouse from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Monday, April 4. Show activities will begin Tuesday night at 6 p.m. with the broiler show, followed by the meat pen of rabbits show and concluding with the breeding rabbits.

Move in and weighing of all the market animals will occur on April 6. Later that evening, the sheep and meat goat shows will start at 6:30 p.m. The home economics non-food items will move in Thursday, April 7, from 3 to 6 p.m. and the swine show will begin at 6:30 p.m. On Friday, April 8, the adult and student home economics exhibits will move in from 7-9 a.m. with the judging at 11 a.m. Later that day, the cattle show will be held starting at 6:30 p.m.

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan, along with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, won a temporary restraining order last week against a La Porte Freeway gas station and convenience store to stop the retail sale of synthetic marijuana.

The order signed on March 23rd prohibits Moon Mart, 10010 La Porte Freeway, from selling or buying synthetic marijuana or any other “illicit synthetic drug.” The order specifically bans the sale of “potpourri, incense, bath salts, or herbal cigarettes that contain a controlled substance, controlled substance analogue, or an illicit synthetic drug.”

Synthetic marijuana, also called “Kush,” is a designer drug, typically manufactured overseas, that is marketed as a “safe” and “legal” alternative to marijuana. Synthetic marijuana is not marijuana at all but a dried leafy substance that is sprayed with powerful, added-in hallucinogenic chemicals that are dangerous and highly addictive to the user. It is often marketed to children, and is the second most abused drug by high school students, after marijuana itself.

For the past 20 years, Jason Bailey and Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott LLP have built a strong partnership that has greatly benefitted Channelview ISD schools.

Bailey serves as the district’s tax attorney, but helping to provide for the needs of students is something he takes seriously. The longtime support of Bailey and Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott has earned them the Stand Up for Texas Public Schools Award, sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards. Bailey accepted the award on the firm’s behalf as part of a special recognition by the CISD Board of Trustees.

“We believe in giving back to the districts that we serve,” Bailey said. “Our partnership with Channelview ISD has grown over the years and it’s truly been a pleasure to help provide students and teachers the resources they need to be successful.”

Bailey and the law firm have supported a variety of programs and events in the district, including the B.H. Hamblen Scholarship Golf Tournament, in which they have been a sponsor for all 18 years of the event. In addition, the company has supported the annual Channelview FFA Livestock Show and Auction, along with the district Teacher of the Year awards ceremony. The company is a sustaining partner and Founding Donor to the Channelview ISD Education Foundation. Bailey also serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation.

Yvette Ariana Leos, a senior at Channelview High School, got 1st in class with her Breeding Duroc at the 2016 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Friday, March 4, 2016. She purchased the Duroc with the money from the Calf scramble, which she caught in the San Antonio Livestock Show And Rodeo in 2015. She also showed her in San Antonio and got 10th in class on February 11th, 2016. Her teachers are Dominic Mosock and Wesley Hutchinson.

HARRIS COUNTY – The election results from the March 1 election are being contested by one of the candidates for Constable, Jasen Rabalais.

Through his attorney Michael Stafford, Rabalais filed a civil cause on March 10th with the 164th District court. The defendents are the two candidates that received more votes in the election than Rabalais, Sherman Eagleton and Michel Pappillion.

The defendents, when contacted by the Star-Courier, did not have an immediate statement on the suit. With only 37 votes separating Rabalais from Pappillion, it is possible that a ruling on the validity of absentee or mail ballots could result in the run-off election between Eagleton and Rabalais, instead of Pappillion. It is understood that this is the basis for Rabalais filing the court action.

A large number of local and State Representatives as well as San Jacinto College officials gathered outside the new Maritime Technology and Training Center on the Maritime Campus in La Porte, Texas on March 8, 2016 for the Center’s ribbon cutting. (Photo by Jeannie Peng-Armao/San Jacinto College)

PASADENA, Texas – With the cut of a ribbon and ring of a bell, San Jacinto College marked the grand opening of the new Maritime Technology and Training Center on the Maritime Campus on March 8, 2016.

The Center is located next to a turning basin along the Port of Houston at 3700 Old Highway 146 in La Porte, Texas – the ideal location for students training to enter the maritime industry, and for current mariners upgrading their U.S. Coast Guard certifications.

“This is what we have envisioned for many years,” said Dr. Brenda Hellyer, San Jacinto College Chancellor. “The Maritime Technology and Training Center on our new Maritime Campus is our response to the region’s growing needs surrounding the Port of Houston and the industries impacted by its activity each day. It has been many years in the making, but it is finally here, and we are excited to begin training the next generation of maritime workers right here along the Gulf Coast.”

The grand opening featured remarks from The Honorable Gene Green, U.S. Representative for Texas’ 29th Congressional District; The Honorable Brian Babin, U.S. Representative for Texas’ 36th Congressional District; The Honorable Larry Taylor, State Senator, Texas Senate District 11; and The Honorable Dennis Paul, State Representative, Texas House District 129. Mr. Jay Guerrero, Regional Director for Southeast Texas, representing The Honorable John Cornyn, U.S. Senator, presented a congratulatory certificate to the College.

In addition, a flag raising ceremony was held, with a U.S. flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol on the first day of classes held at the Center. The flag was donated by Congressman Babin. The event culminated with a christening ceremony, ribbon cutting, and the ringing of the bell, opening the doors to the Center for tours.

LyondellBasell Houston Refinery Site Manager Jerome Mauvigney addresses students at North Shore Senior High School.

PASADENA, Texas – March 2, 2016 – LyondellBasell, one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, is continuing its partnership with Austin Industrial on their Adopt-a-School program. In its ninth year, the two companies will offer employment to nine high school students from Galena Park ISD and Pasadena ISD to help them learn valuable trade skills.

“Our vision is to be the best operated company in the industry and that requires having a pool of highly-skilled and trained workers now and in the future,” said Houston Refinery Site Manager Jerome Mauvigney. “The Adopt-a-School program provides students the opportunity to experience working alongside the top operations experts in the field. We teach them more than about the equipment and tools. They learn our safety culture, teamwork, communication and striving for excellence.

Armed with real-world experiences in the classroom and on-site, students have a stronger advantage in gaining full-time employment upon graduation. LyondellBasell works with Austin Industrial, a contractor company on-site, to hire the students to work inside the facility.

“Working with LyondellBasell and Austin Industrial has given our students the opportunity to get a head start on their careers,” said Career & Technical Education Director of Galena Park ISD, Laura Mann. “Our partnership allows learning to happen in a real-world situation with the guidance of mentors from LyondellBasell and Austin Industrial. This is a win-win situation for students and industry.”

NORTH FOREST – Shadydale Elementary was the site for a community meeting last Monday evening, hosted by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

The purpose of the meeting was to report back to the North Forest community, on current plans for the Houston Community College to proceed with construction of three new buildings and a new campus, at the site on Little York at Homestead Road. The meeting opened with a moment of silence marking the passing of longtime North Forest Trustee Lois Edwards.

The project had been proposed in a referendum that the community approved in 2008, but budget shortfalls with all of HCC had curtailed construction until now.

On Thursday, February 18, 2016, the Sheldon ISD Board of Trustees voted to call a school bond election. The recommended package totals $285 million and will include funds for:

• A new high school

• A new elementary school

• Renovations to current middle schools

• Technology upgrades throughout the district

• Land purchases for new SISD facilities

The proposal will go before voters on May 7.

Sheldon ISD is considered a fast-growth district. According to a June 2014 demographic study, district enrollment was projected to be at nearly 8,300 by 2015. The district exceeded that projection with an enrollment of more than 8,500 by December 2015. This year alone, the district saw a 7% growth rate. At this rate, Sheldon ISD can expect to have a student enrollment of more than 11,000 by 2023.